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Home fire safety

Kitchen Area

Prevent Cooking Fires - Watch What You Heat

Kitchens can be a dangerous area in the home and account for a high number of fires and injuries. In fact, cooking fires are the leading cause of residential fires and injuries in the nation. Three in 10 reported home fires start in the kitchen - more than any other place in the home.

Extinguishing Grease Fires

Built-up grease catches fire easily. Wipe appliance surfaces after spills and clean stove surfaces, ovens and appliances regularly. An appropriate sized lid should be kept near the stove to cover and smother any grease fire contained in a pan. Baking soda can also be used. Never use water to extinguish a grease fire

Cooking Tips

  • Don't leave the kitchen with something cooking on the stove
  • Don't cook if you are drowsy or feeling the effects of alcohol, medication or other drugs
  • Roll up your sleeves and don't wear loose-fitting clothing. If your clothes catch on fire, stop, drop and roll until the fire is out.
  • Clean cooking equipment regularly to remove grease or cooking materials that can ignite.

Test your smoke alarms

Make sure they're working so that if a fire does start you'll have the early warning necessary for everyone to exit the home quickly. Sit down with the whole family and work out an escape plan. Everyone needs to know how to get out of the house if a fire starts. Be sure to designate a meeting place outside the house where everyone can gather once they're out. Check the cords to any electrical heaters you have to make sure that they're not frayed or worn and be sure that all other heating appliances are in good working order.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Safety Information

New York State law requires smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in all types of housing. Alarms are the best way keep family members safe in the event of a fire or a release of highly poisonous carbon monoxide gas.

It is the responsibility of the property owner, including landlords, to ensure these devices are in place. But the Rochester Fire Department (RFD) will provide home safety checks and install pre-purchased alarms upon request. The RFD will visit any city home to ensure smoke or carbon monoxide alarms are correctly installed and in working order. The RFD receives federal funding to install a limited number of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms for low-income homeowners and in emergency situations, while supplies last

Smoke Alarm Information

  • Smoke alarms should be installed in every room of your home except the kitchen.
  • Test your batteries once every six months, and replace your alarm every ten years, or immediately if it becomes defective.  

Carbon Monoxide Alarm Information

  • Carbon monoxide alarms should be installed on every level of a home that has a sleeping area, and on the level that contains a carbon monoxide/heating source.
  • Battery-powered alarms should be tested very six months. The device itself should be replaced every 10 years or as soon as it becomes defective.
  • Take all alarms and alerts seriously and call 911 immediately. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas.

Smoke Alarm for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired

According to The Fire Protection Research Foundation, among the people at risk of not waking to an auditory smoke alarm are the more than 34.5 million people in the US who are hard of hearing. In some cases such people
purchase alternative alerting devices which may send a visual signal (e.g. a strobe light) or a tactile signal which vibrates. Bed shakers and pillow shakers have become available for people with hearing impairment and may be used with an alarm clock or for emergency notification.

For the hearing-impared, the Rochester Fire Department has SilentCall Smoke Alarms available.

Call 311 to schedule an appointment or to determine if you qualify for a free smoke or carbon monoxide alarm.

Winter Safety

Each year fires occurring during the winter season injure thousands of individuals and cause millions of dollars in damages. There are simple life-saving steps we can take to ensure our safety. By following some of the outlined precautionary tips, individuals can greatly reduce their chances of becoming a fire casualty.

Remove snow surrounding a fire hydrant

While many welcome our winter wonderland, did you know that snow could cause a great fire risk to your home? If a fire hydrant is buried in the snow, that's not a good thing if your home catches fire. An uncleared fire hydrant could cost firefighters that precious time needed to protect your home and family. Fire hydrants way also freeze causing the inability of the hydrant to flow water during a time of an emergency.

It is the property owners responsibility to keep the fire hydrants clear.

Spring Forward: Time to reset your clock

The Rochester Fire Department encourages you to not only reset your clock, but also to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

This is also a good time to review the Fire Exit Drills with your family. Make sure your children recognize the sound of your home's Smoke Alarm and teach them to respond instinctively to its signal. Create at least two different escape routes from every room and practice them with the entire family.

Holiday decorating

  • Be careful with holiday decorations. Choose decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.
  • Keep lit candles away from decorations and other things that can burn.
  • Do not place your tree close to a heat source, including a fireplace or heat vent.
  • Use lights that have the label of an independent testing laboratory. Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.
  • Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Connect no more than three strands of mini light sets and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs.
  • Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged.
  • Do not block exits – keep decorations away from windows and doors.

Candle care

  • Avoid Using Lit Candles:  If you do use them, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be easily knocked down. Never leave the house with candles burning.
  • Never Put Lit Candles on a Tree:  Do not go near a Christmas tree with an open flame - candles, lighters or matches.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless and colorless gas which could be created whenever a fuel (such as wood, gasoline, coal, natural gas, kerosene, etc.) is burning. You may be exposed to Carbon Monoxide when:

  • You leave your car, truck or van running.
  • You burn charcoal, alcohol or gasoline in an enclosed test, camper or room.
  • You smoke a cigar, cigarette or pipe
  • You home contains an incorrectly vented or malfunctioning hot water heater, furnace, space heater, fireplace or stove.

It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure these devices are in place, but the Rochester Fire Department can provide home safety advice and can install pre-purchased alarms upon request.

Daylight Saving - Time to Remember Fire Safety!

Semi-annual clock change offers fire safety opportunity

Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday Nov. 5 at 2 a.m. local time. Clocks will go back for an hour at that time.

Twice each year, Rochester-area residents adjust their clocks to Daylight Saving Time (spring) and Eastern Standard Time (fall).

This semi-annual event offers an excellent opportunity to ensure fire safety in the home by changing smoke-alarm batteries and practicing Exit Drills in the Home (EDITH).

Check Smoke Alarm Battery

Checking smoke alarm batteries at least once per month is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce tragic deaths and injuries. Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide.

The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms is worn or missing batteries. In fact, working smoke alarms cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. In addition, experts recommend replacing your smoke alarms every ten years and testing smoke alarms regularly by pushing the test button.

Don’t wait, check the date

If you have a smoke alarm that is over 10 years old, it needs to be replaced. Remember, even if you have a new smoke alarm with a 10-year battery, you should test your smoke alarm at least once per month. If you notice an intermittent CHIRPING sound, this means the battery is low and must be replaced.

Observe proper Installation practices  

Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside bedrooms 

  • A smoke alarm should be installed and maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  • Consider placing alarms along your escape path to assist in egress in limited visibility conditions.
  • In general you should place alarms in the center of a ceiling or, if you place them on a wall, they should be 6 to 12 inches below the ceiling.

Exit Drills In The Home (EDITH)

To escape a house on fire; first maintain working smoke alarms in your home, and second; have a plan in which to escape your home in case of fire. EDITH is very important along with having working smoke alarms. Once a smoke alarm goes off in your home, members of your household along with yourself should react, by using your pre-planned escape route to exit safely from a fire. Know your escape plan before a fire happens. Use the following steps to develop your escape plan.

  • Draw a simple floor plan of your home, showing two ways out of each room.
  • Ensure all household members understand the escape routes from the plan.
  • Make sure routes are clear, and that the doors and windows on the route can be opened properly.
  • Crawl while using your escape route, it is safer because heat and smoke rise in a fire
  • Practice your escape plan at least twice a year with your household members and test your smoke alarms monthly while checking the batteries twice a year. Change your clock, change your batteries.
  • Agree on a meeting place outside where everyone can meet after exiting the home. (This will allow for a head count and allow the arriving fire fighters to gain information about possible missing members, and the fire inside.)
  • Remember; People who live in an apartment building should use the stairways and NOT the elevator to escape to the outside. Some high-rise buildings may use a "defend in place" plan dependent on the fire location.